A nitric oxide-releasing salbutamol elicits potent relaxant and anti-inflammatory activities

beta(2)-Adrenoceptor agonists are widely used in the treatment of pulmonary diseases. We have investigated the relaxant and anti-inflammatory activities of NCX-950 (alpha'-[[(1,1-dimethylethy)amino]methyl]-4-hydroxy-1,3-benzenedimethanol nitrate) (a nitric oxide-releasing salbutamol) in human isolated bronchi and on lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced acute airway inflammation in mice. NCX-950 (10(-8)-10(-5) M) elicited a relaxation of human isolated bronchi moderately higher than salbutamol, which was reduced by a beta-adrenergic blocking drug, propranolol, but not by an inhibitor of guanylate cyclase, ODQ (1H-[1,2,4]oxadiazolo[4,3-]quinolaxin-1-one). The treatment of mice with NCX-950 (1, 10, and 100 muM aerosol) markedly inhibited the neutrophil influx induced by LPS aerosol in bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluid, whereas salbutamol at equimolar doses elicited a moderate inhibition. Pretreatment of mice with NCX-950 (100 muM) also significantly reduced tumor necrosis factor-alpha, interleukin-6 (IL-6), transforming growth factor-beta, and matrix metalloproteinase-9 release in BAL fluid, whereas salbutamol was ineffective. Propranolol, but not ODQ, suppressed the inhibitory activity of NCX-950 on neutrophil influx and IL-6 release in BAL fluids. A nitric oxide-releasing sildenafil NCX-911 [(5-[2-ethoxy-5-(4-methylpiperidinylsulfonyl)phenyl]1-methyl-3-n-propyl-1,6-dihydro-7H-pyrazolo[4,3-d]pyrimidin-7-one nitrate)], but not sildenafil (100 muM) also reduced the neutrophil influx following LPS exposure in mice. This study reported that NCX-950 elicits potent relaxant and anti-inflammatory activities compared with salbutamol, and these effects may be mainly due to the activation of the beta(2)-adrenoceptor rather than the cGMP pathway.